How to Build an Effective Framework Based on Theories

You work on important academic projects starts with your formal theoretical framework that you provide in the starting section of your dissertation to explain a rationale of your research and identify a key problem. Its basic purpose is to describe your project and its goal. Consider it as a conceptual model to establish the nature of your study and an effective approach to guide your work.

A theoretical framework gives a general background to support your investigation and provide readers with a detailed justification for your studies of the chosen topic. Make strong frameworks based on relevant theories. Your excellent theoretical framework should include related variables that you will measure and specific relationships that you want to understand. Describe your chosen theory to build a strong case for investigating it. It’s all about your impressive research problem presentation and explanation.

The Definition of a Theoretical Framework

Its key goal is to create a strong foundation for your future academic project. Use it to find epistemological, methodological, and analytical grounds for your further discussion and demonstrate your clear understanding of a given subject. Your theoretical framework can help you make clever decisions. Some of the most popular theories across all disciplines include the following:

• Critical;
• Situational;
• Behavioral;
• Transformational;
• Cognitive;
• Feminist;
• Gender;
• Marxist.

Align all information in your paper, including variables, constructs, questions, and concepts with a theoretical framework and consider it when determining your effective research design or methods.

Why do you need it?

After making your problem statement and defining research questions, it’s necessary to search for the ideas and theories that have any relationship to your chosen topic. By presenting such data, you frame your work and show your knowledge of key theories, models, and concepts in terms of your subject. Chosen models and definitions provide you with a further direction. Focus on their development at different stages of this process. A theoretical framework provides you with strong scientific justifications for your project because it proves that existing theories support your research.

Theoretical Framework Contents

It’s important to cite existing ideas and relevant theories, define key terms and research questions, and identify concepts.

How to identify and assess relevant models, theories, and concepts? Use a literature review to evaluate how others defined your key concepts and compare their definitions to choose the best one for your case. Indicate any notable links between them. Describe the models related to your findings and argue why you decide to apply them to your piece of writing.

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Adding other elements

Based on your education discipline, feel free to include in your theoretical framework a comprehensive review of the current state of your research subject. Take into account your professors’ expectations in advance. Analyze a specific field to get a clear idea of similar studies and clarify the position of your qualitative or quantitative research based on existing knowledge. Consider these important factors to present a good overview:

1. Describe relevant discussions in reliable sources of information;
2. Analyze both differences and similarities between your project and other studies;
3. Explain the models, methods, and theories that others use (argue why a specific one is appropriate for your paper);
4. Explain how it can add to existing knowledge.

What questions should you answer? You can use your theoretical framework to answer descriptive questions or further analyze hypotheses and findings related to your topic. Use it to evaluate and formulate your own hypothesis, which you will test during your research and study a bit later.

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How to Structure your Theoretical Framework?

There are no strict rules that you must follow, the main thing is to create its logical structure by drawing on key terms and hypotheses. Feel free to write a paragraph or section that looks at every hypothesis, question, and key concept to end up with the best theoretical framework. Don’t forget to explore relevant models and theories.

How long should your theoretical framework be? There are no exact rules about its length, but many teachers advise their students to write it 3-5 pages long. To make everything clear, it’s useful to include different graphics. Place them in a special appendix if you have space concerns.

Conceptual or theoretical framework? A theoretical framework may not be appropriate for all studies based on different reasons, and that’s why you may need to make the conceptual one (if you chose other people’s ideas or findings that aren’t based on theories). This type relies on different beliefs, assumptions, and concepts that students use to guide their efficient research, writing, and work. It uses connected concepts instead of established theories.

How to Write your Theoretical Framework Correctly?

You should take several steps to end up with the best one, including:

• Writing an introduction to catch readers’ interest;
• Explain a foundation of your chosen problem;
• Describe a case for your study;
• Connect your research, audience, and problem.

Start with writing your introduction to create readers’ interest in your subject. Your theoretical framework must mention previous research and unstudied areas to identify a purpose of your work and discuss existing knowledge. Describe how your proposed study can lead to a helpful investigation or gaps in previous research and explain its foundation in broad terms.

Describe a case for your study and present relevant references. That’s because a literature review is an important section of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper, and your theoretical framework introduces it by mentioning major themes of your proposed study. Connect all dots between your audience, problem, and project. As you close it, targeted readers should comprehend its context and content, its future effect on your chosen field, and potential benefits. There are certain things that you need to make it successful, including:

• A strong thesis application;
• Your unique research idea;
• Samples of relevant sources of information.

What data do you need to get from your theory?

1. The names of its authors;
2. The date when they postulated this generalization or principle;
3. Exact parts linked to your study (use references to credit authors and avoid plagiarism);
4. Make your synthesis by relating valuable findings to a theory.

The main purpose of your theoretical framework is to explain to examiners the nature of your work, so they need to see something interesting. They want to know the following:

• Your understanding of chosen theories;
• Why you choose a particular approach;
• Your knowledge of theories;
• How you use them;
• Possible downsides.

There are different ways that you can use to interpret theories. Describe why you make a certain choice with its benefits and focus on a particular frame and everything it gives you to design a strong academic project. Think about other scholars who used a similar approach to a theoretical framework and decide what you can take from their work.

Pick the most important aspects of your theory. Take into account its possible downsides. If you use a few approaches in your research, it’s necessary to give clear answers to all questions while saying how and why you do that. Determine if they are compatible and fill in existing gaps. After identifying your targeted audience and theoretical framework purpose, consider how you will write it in the most impressive way.

Interesting questions and answers. Why not to use your suspicions? Your theoretical framework is a brief summary of your study of a given subject, and you must develop it based on a review of past research. It also determines the most effective plan to interpret and investigate findings. It involves your well-supported rationale, and you should organize it in a way that can help readers assess and understand your perspective. Its basic purpose is to prove that you base your offered relationships on strong facts, not your guesses or personal instincts.

The development of your can help you clarify your study and consider other effective methods to eliminate possible biases in your research interpretation. Think about alternative theories that challenge your viewpoint. Focus on possible limitations because a theoretical framework offers the best way to conceptualize the nature of your chosen problem, its analysis, and basis. It defines how you interpret and perceive relevant data, and that’s why its explanation helps all readers understand your key context.

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How to develop theoretical framework successfully?

Ensure that you connect and develop a theoretical framework based on your review and knowledge of the chosen academic subject. Decide how you initially formulate your research problem. Review relevant literature to find gaps because it will let you present your work based on its analytical summary and impress teachers. Your description of interesting variables in the context of your literature review allows other people to understand important theorized links or connections.

Start with describing current knowledge. Investigate other scholars’ theories to identify the best one to explain your major point because your key goal is to convey to others why you think that your variables are relevant. It’s essential to include previous research and theories to defend your rationale. Tell readers what they will find in your study, apply theories to your research problem, and state your predictions or hypotheses.

How can you relate it to quantitative research?

There is a connection between quantitative research and your theoretical framework. Your final choice of research design depends on the goals of your study and literature review (it may take some time). This design uses deductive reasoning, which starts with determining the best theoretical framework to guide your project and give it good structure. It establishes grounds for your study. Remember that it directs your research methods, but ensure that your chosen methodology provides the audience with the strong conclusions compatible with theories.
 

How can you simplify it?

There are two basic factors that you can use to simplify this important concept because any theoretical framework involves a rationale for doing your research and a discussion of your subject. They form its basis when writing your complex academic paper.

Your Helpful Checklist

A theoretical framework:

✔Is a special structure that can support or hold your theory;
✔Consists of different concepts and existing theories for your project;
✔Describes and introduces the chosen theories that explain why your research issue exists;
✔Provides a specific perspective to examine your subject;
✔There are no wrong and right options to use when examining your subject because you can use different perspectives to do that.

Why should you use it?

It can improve your analysis by determining a number of questions that you should ask and a specific perspective to use while investigating your chosen subject. How to use it?

✔You must be explicit about original theories and their possible changes;
✔There should be explicit connections of your theoretical framework with your literature review, analysis, and research methodology;
✔It should inform and frame each part of your future paper.

What does it do?

✔Enabling readers to evaluate your study critically;
✔Providing you with a good choice of suitable research methods;
✔Connecting you to existing knowledge;
✔Helping you identify the limits of generalizations;
✔Forcing you to address important questions.

You should position your theoretical framework in a broader context, learn its possible limitations, and describe relevant models, concepts, and theories.

Final words

What if you face any hardships? Making an effective theoretical framework is not an easy task, so turn to our qualified and trained professionals if you need any help. Our online custom paper writing services are available around the clock. Feel free to use them whenever you require expert guidance or assistance with your academic assignments and improve your grades.